CMHC President and CEO Romy Bowers speaks to reporters, in Toronto, June 16.Christopher Katsarov/The Canadian Press
The head of Canada’s national housing agency is departing for a new job at the International Monetary Fund, leaving at a critical time as Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. attempts to roll out billions of dollars in taxpayer funds to create more affordable housing.
CMHC chief executive Romy Bowers is scheduled to leave in December, after less than three years at the helm of the agency. Her chief financial officer, Michel Tremblay, will manage CMHC while Ottawa searches for a new CEO. CMHC said Ms. Bowers would not be providing any comment.
Ms. Bowers, a former banker who rose through the ranks at CMHC to serve as chief risk officer and then as its second female CEO, will join the IMF in January where she will have oversight over the international lender’s day-to-day operations in her position as director of the Office of Risk Management.
During her short tenure as housing agency chief, CMHC has played an increasingly large role in the federal government’s efforts to deal with the country’s housing problems.
The agency is in charge of administering Ottawa’s $82-billion National Housing Strategy to build and repair more rental units, mitigate homelessness and help first-time homebuyers, among other initiatives.
Under her leadership, CMHC has issued reports saying the country has to more than double the pace of new home construction to help bring shelter costs back down.
Currently, the typical price of a home across the country tops $700,000, and the average monthly rent is more than $2,000.
Ms. Bowers endeared herself with industry and other housing stakeholders. She had a quiet public presence, unlike her predecessor who was outspoken and prolific on social media.
One of the first moves Ms. Bowers made as the head of CMHC was to reverse her predecessor’s decision to toughen qualification rules for mortgage insurance. CMHC provides mortgage insurance to homebuyers who make down payments that are less than 20 per cent of the property’s purchase price.
The federal housing agency has yet to regain the market share it lost when it made its mortgage insurance rules more difficult.
Ms. Bowers joined CMHC in 2015 after working in corporate banking, where she served in treasury and risk management. She also held the positions of chief commercial officer and senior vice-president of client solutions.
CMHC’s interim leader, Mr. Tremblay, is a long-time civil servant. He joined in 2005 and has worked across the agency in finance, auditing and information technology. Mr. Tremblay also served as CMHC’s senior vice-president of policy and innovation and helped develop the federal housing strategy.
An online statement from the Housing Ministry praised Mr. Tremblay’s extensive experience at CMHC. The statement did not provide a timeline for finding a replacement for Ms. Bowers.